Washington Legislative committee Approves Hemp Bill

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) - A legislative committee has approved a bill that would allow Washington farmers to grow industrial hemp.

Washington officials are in the process of establishing a system to legalize the production and sale of marijuana for recreational use, following passage of Initiative 502 last fall. But that initiative didn't cover the production of hemp or hemp products.

House Bill 1888 would permit development of an industrial hemp industry in Washington. A House committee approved the bill Thursday, sending it to the full House for a vote.

Nine other states have passed laws allowing hemp production, but none grows hemp as a crop.